Only the Strong
by alwayswriting
Summary: Riley/Cordelia. Riley is sent on a mission to LA and into Cordelia's arms. AU fic: No Sam, No powers for Cordelia, and No Conner.
1. The Mission

The Mission

In his hand, he held the taser. His hazel eyes locked on his target. A few feet away stood a creature with scaly skin and a long tail. 

"Agent Finn." 

He turned and saw Agent Cooper behind him. He motioned him to be quiet as he approached the creature from behind. The creature stirred, confronting him head on. He jabbed the creature with his taser, sending a blue shock of electricity through its body. It collapsed to the ground; its breathing now raspy. 

Agent Copper appeared next to him. "Good work." 

Riley Finn smiled. "I always get my target." 

** 

The two agents collected the creature from the woods and boarded the helicopter with it. Riley sat in the back and looked outside to the descending world. His thoughts went back to that night. The night he had waited for Buffy. The night she didn't come. The same feeling ran through his body today. Sadness and loneliness, but at the same time, he felt nothing as if there was a bottomless pit in his stomach aching to be filled. 

As the helicopter touched base, Riley and his men stepped out, carrying the comatose demon with them. 

"Finn, can I talk to you for a minute?" his superior officer said. Gordon Hayden was a tall broad shouldered man in his late forties who was fit enough to be in his mid-twenties. He placed a hand on Riley's back. "We have an assignment for you back in the States." 

"Where, sir?" 

"California." 

Riley instantly thought of Sunnydale. 

"Los Angeles to be more specific," Hayden said. 

Riley nodded. "What's the situation?" 

"A breed of demons we're not sure about," he said, "but all we know that it needs to be stopped." 

"How many men will be coming with me?" 

"We want you to go alone so nothing is suspected," Hayden said. "Look around and find out any information, then when you report back to the base, we'll send more men." He looked Riley in the eye. "Are you up for it, Finn?" 

Riley didn't hesitate. "When do I leave?" 

** 

The bright California sun burned in his eyes. He got out of his cab, paid the driver, and walked to his motel room. Riley took off his shirt and paced his room. Sweat was dripping off his forehead. He turned on the air-conditioner in his window and let the air cool him off. He ran his hand through his dark blonde hair and went to sit on his bed. He opened his bag and reached inside. 

"Time for some action." He clasped the gun in his hand, ready for tonight's patrol. 

** 

"Hey, baby, looking for some lovin'?" The petite blonde woman followed Riley as he walked down the street. She was dressed in a tight black dress with bright red lipstick. She took a drag of her cigarette when he didn't respond. "It's your loss, punk!" 

He continued walking down the busy city street, making his way past the people of the night. He was getting frustrated. He wasn't finding any creatures of the night. His cell phone rang suddenly. "Finn." 

"Any sightings yet?" Hayden said on the other line. "No, sir," he said. "I was thinking about visiting the underground bars, maybe finding out some news." 

"Very well. Report back any information." 

Riley hung up and turned around the corner to an alleyway. He could sense something lurking in the shadows. He placed his hand underneath his coat to his gun holster. He instantly turned at the sound of footsteps. A teenage girl screamed at his gun. 

"Get out of here!" He pushed the girl away. She ran out of the alleyway. Suddenly, a fist slammed into his face sending him to this back. His gun flew out of his hand. Dazed, he stood up and faced a large creature. It was hidden in the dark, but Riley could make out its red eyes and the outline of its wings. The creature growled and stepped towards him. Riley lunged for his gun, but the creature was quicker, grabbing the weapon and breaking it into two. 

"Okay," Riley said. "Plan B." He reached inside his coat, pulling out two daggers. He threw one at the demon. It dodged it successfully. The dagger hit a wooden box. "Return," he said and the dagger pulled itself out of the box and flew back into his hands. A new invention by the Initiative. 

The demon paused, unsure on the new weapon. 

"Come on." Riley's eyes taunted the creature. He held the two daggers in his hands, ready for anything. He suddenly heard the flapping of the demon's wings as it started to fly away. Riley watched as it ascended up the side of the building. He climbed on the ladder of the fire escape, following the demon up. Once on top of the roof, he scanned the area. He gripped the daggers tightly. He heard the ruffling of the wings and turned. A shadow emerged. Riley's eyes glimmered with anticipation. He threw both of the daggers and watched as the demon raised its hands knocking them out of its way. "Return." The daggers rose from the ground and flew back towards Riley's hands. 

Suddenly, a hand grabbed him by the neck. The daggers missed his hands, disappearing off the roof. Riley turned to face a second demon. Its strong grasp on his neck was choking him. The demon he had been chasing appeared next to it. They looked him over as if wondering what they should do with him. The first demon took a hold of his head and squeezed. Riley cried out in pain as white flashes exploded before his eyes. It only lasted a moment and then the flashes were gone. The pain was not. The demon holding him dragged him to the edge of the roof and dangled him over it. It looked into Riley's eyes and let go of him. 

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	2. Forgotten

Forgotten

Angel knew he was too late. He saw the two creatures fly into the night. "They're gone," he said to Gunn and Wesley. 

Gunn raised his weapon. "Lets go after them!" 

"We have a problem," Wesley said. He pointed to his back. "We can't fly." 

Gunn shook his head. "Damn." 

Angel walked into the dark alleyway with Gunn and Wesley slowly following him. 

"What is it?" Wesley said. 

Angel raised his hand, telling them to be quiet. 

"His vampire senses must have kicked in," Gunn said softly. 

Angel saw the figure lying on the cement. He had a gash on the side of his head, but he was breathing. Barely. "Help him up," he said. 

Gunn and Wesley grabbed the other side of the man with Angel on the left. "What happened to him?" Gunn said. 

"Lets take him back to our place," Angel said. 

"This man needs to go the hospital," Wesley said. He felt something in the man's coat pocket. It was a familiar feeling. He pulled out the wooden stakes. He looked at Gunn and Angel questionably. 

** 

Back at Angel Investigations, Angel watched as Riley regained consciousness. He was laying on a bed with a warm towel over his head and a bandage on the side of his forehead. 

"Are you going to explain to us now who he is?" Wesley said. 

Angel's eyes never left the bed. "His name is Riley Finn." 

"Buffy's ex," Cordelia said with a smirk. 

Angel threw her a look. She shrugged. "What?" 

"The guy who worked for that government group?" Gunn said. "What was is it? The Initiative?" 

Angel nodded. "They hunt demons and other supernatural beings." 

Riley turned to look at the group. "Where am I?" 

Cordelia went to him. "You need to rest." She moved the towel over his face. "Talking might hurt you more." "He needs to talk," Angel said. He looked at him. "What are you doing here?" 

Riley stared up into the bright fluorescent lights overhead. He struggled to answer the question. "Well?" Gunn said. 

Riley tried again to answer the question, but he knew it was hopeless. The bright lights seemed to be drowning him as he said, "I don't know." 

** 

"How did he become an amnesiac?" Cordelia said in the other room. 

Riley had fallen asleep as the group met in the main room. 

"My guess is that cut on his head," Gunn said. 

Fred shook her head. "It's the demon." 

"What?" Angel said. "Those demons we missed tonight?" 

"When I was researching them, it said they preyed on the mind," Fred said, "Not like eating brains, but the life force and energy of it. The thoughts, ideas…" 

"And memories," Wesley said catching on. 

Fred nodded. "That's how they survive." 

"If he's lost his memory, then he can't remember anything about those demons," Cordelia said, "Or demons in general." 

"What are we going to do?" Fred said to Angel. 

** 

"Hey." Buffy walked in the door, careful not to look Angel in the eye. "I came as soon as you called." 

"Thanks for coming on short notice," he said. "I know you would have wanted to be here." 

"Thanks," she said. 

Cordelia walked over to her. "Hi, Buffy!" 

Buffy gave her a small smile. "Cordelia." She walked inside the room and saw Wesley, an young African-American man and a girl about her age with long dark hair. "Hello." 

"Buffy, this is Gunn and Fred," Cordelia said. 

They exchanged greetings. 

"Where is he?" Buffy said. 

Angel led her to the back room where Riley was still resting. Buffy sat down in the chair next to the bed. She turned to Angel. "Can we be…" 

He nodded and closed the door as he left. 

Buffy took Riley's hand into hers. He slowly opened his eyes at her touch. "Riley?" 

His face remained blank. "Who are you?" 

Buffy held back her tears. "I'm Buffy." 

Riley didn't show any reaction. 

"I bought these pictures," Buffy said. "Maybe they can help you." She took out the photos from her bag. "Just look at them, okay?" 

Riley looked at the glossy photos of him and Buffy. Some were they holding each other. Some were group shots of them and a dark haired guy and a red haired girl. He looked at Buffy, wanting to remember, but the pictures had triggered nothing. 

"I..." He frowned. "I'm sorry. I don't remember anything." 

"Riley..." 

He looked at the pictures again. "Are we together?" They looked very happy in each other's arms. 

"We were." Buffy paused. "But I care about you and I want you to get better." 

"Then tell me who I am." 

Buffy thought about his identity. His work with the Initiative. Maggie Walsh. Adam. How was she supposed to explain to him all of that? And the fact that she was a vampire slayer, or that Angel was a vampire with a soul. 

"You're Riley Finn," she said. "The rest is up to you." 

** 

Buffy sipped her tea at the table. "I can take him back to Sunnydale with me. I can take care of him there." 

Angel crossed his arms across his chest. "I don't think that's a good idea." 

"Why?" she said. 

"If we find this demon that did this to him, maybe we can do something to retrieve his memories," he said. "It would be better for him to stay." 

"Then I can stay here." 

Angel frowned. "Buffy, I know you're worried about him, but think about it. You have your own problems to take care of in Sunnydale. The slaying, Dawn…please let me help you by helping Riley." 

She thought about it and sighed. "Thank you, Angel." 

** 

Cordelia helped Riley out of his shoes and shirt as he climbed into bed again. Buffy sure did have good taste in her men. She smiled at him. "Feeling any better?" 

"The truth?" He grimaced. "No." 

She placed her hand over his. "Look, we're going to get to the bottom of this and help you remember, okay?" 

"Is that a promise?" 

She crossed her finger over her heart. "I swear." 

Just then, Buffy walked in. Cordelia smiled at them. "I'm going to leave now." She walked past Buffy and left the room. 

"Are you all right?" Riley said. 

Buffy laughed. "I should be asking you that, you know." He smiled at her. "Well, are you?" 

"I'm going back home." She lowered her eyes. "Angel will take care of you. They all will. They want to help." 

"I wish I could remember you," he said softly. 

"I know you will," Buffy said filled with hope. "You will." 

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	3. Insomnia

Insomnia

Fred gasped as she looked up to see Riley standing in the dark. She took off her glasses and caught her breath. 

"Sorry," he said. "I couldn't sleep." 

Fred smiled sympathetically at him. 

He took a seat next to her at the table. He looked at the books she was reading. They were old hardcovered books with leather binding. He picked one up curiously. Fred grabbed it out of his hand. 

"What?" he said. 

"Uh, you can't read that," she said. She placed her hand over something in the book she was reading. "You can't read any of this." 

Riley reached for her hand and she reluctantly moved it. A puzzled expression came over his face as he saw the picture of the creature. It was a black and white drawing of some sort of monster with wings. "What is this?" he said. 

Fred didn't say anything. 

"Does this thing have something to do with my memory loss?" Riley said. 

"Riley, please..." 

"Tell me!" Riley pleaded with her. "Stop holding back anything from me. I need to know." 

Fred opened her mouth to explain when his cell phone went off. Riley found it hidden in his coat pocket and answered it. "Hello?" 

"Finn, is that you?" a hard voice said on the other line. 

Riley decided to play along. "Yes. What can I do for you?" 

"You know what you can do," the man said. "The base hasn't heard anything from you in nearly forty-eight hours. Have you found anything out about the demon?" 

Riley looked down at the picture in the book. "Yes, sir. From what I know it's a large creature with wings." 

"Any luck on tracking it down?" 

"No, but I'll get back to you with any more information," Riley said. He hung up and looked at the screen to see if a phone number had shown up. All it said was Unauthorized Number. 

"Who was that?" Fred said. 

"It was a man," he said, "He wanted to know if I had found out any information on a demon." 

"Oh." Fred looked away. 

"So are you going to tell me what's going on?" he said. 

Fred slowly looked back at him. 

** 

Cordelia found him sitting by himself in a corner facing the wall. "Riley?" He didn't move. "There's breakfast in the next room if you want to come eat." 

"My name is Riley Finn," he said almost in a whisper. 

"What?" She moved closer to him. 

He continued talking. "I work for a secret government agency called the Initiative. I specialize in capturing demons, vampires, and other supernatural beings." He looked up at her. "This is Angel Investigations. Angel is a vampire with a soul. Wesley was a former Watcher. Fred was stuck in another dimension until you all rescued her." 

Cordelia looked at him with amazement. "Your memory is back, but how did you know all of that other stuff?" 

"Fred told me everything." His eyes filled with sadness for a moment. "She told me the truth." 

"But..." 

He shook his head. "I still don't remember anything." 

"Don't worry, Riley," she said. "It will come back to you." 

He gave her a small smile. "You swear?" 

She returned his smile and crossed a finger over her heart. "I swear." 

** 

Later that night, after Angel, Gunn, and Wesley had left to go hunt for the demon, Cordelia and Fred pulled out the books to do more research. It was almost midnight and it felt like they had been reading the same thing over and over. There was hardly any information the memory-sucking demon. A few pictures and descriptions, but nothing on an antidote for retrieving memories. Cordelia looked over at Fred, who had fallen asleep in the middle of reading. She sighed and closed her own book. 

"Hey." Riley walked over to her. "How's the reading going?" 

"What are you doing up?" she said. "You should be sleeping." 

"I can't sleep," he said. 

"Sleeping in the daytime and wide awake in the evening?" She raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure it's a demon we should be chasing?" 

He pointed to his neck. "No bite mark, no vampire." 

She smiled. "I was just joking." She stood up. "Okay, off to bed." 

He reached for her hand. "Lets go for a walk." 

She cast a weary look at him. 

"Come on," he said. "I've been cooped up since I got here. I need some fresh air." 

"Well..." His eyes pleaded with hers. She couldn't resist it. "Okay, but fifteen minutes and we come back." 

He threw his arms around her and lifted her off the ground in an embrace. She laughed and pulled herself out of his arms. "I'll leave Fred a note and then we can go." Cordelia grabbed a wooden stake off the table. "You can never be too careful." 

** 

Riley smiled as the cool breeze hit his face. He breathed it in and looked over at Cordelia. "So, tell me about yourself," he said. 

"What do you want to know?" 

"What do you think?" he said smiling. "I don't know anything about you so everything, I suppose." 

"Well, what version do you want?" she said. "The Sunnydale or LA?" 

He smirked. "You have versions of yourself?" 

She tucked a strand of her dark hair behind her ear. "I came to LA after high school to become an actress, but then I found out it's very hard to leave behind the life of demons and vampires." She laughed. "And now I work for a vampire whose main goal in the afterlife is redemption." 

"Who needs Hollywood, right?" 

She nodded with a grin. "Right." 

"So tell me about me," he said carefully. 

"But, Fred..." 

"Fred told me about the surface," he said. "My name, my occupation, but I want to know the real me. Do I have a favorite book? Color? Do I have anything?" 

Cordelia stopped walking and looked down. "Riley, I can't tell you any of those things." 

Riley was about to reply when a scream echoed in the night. They ran to a nearby park and saw a young girl fighting off a man. The man turned around and they saw he was a vampire. Riley instinctively raised his fist and hit him in the face. The girl ran off in horror. The vampire kicked Riley in the stomach and tossed him to the ground. Cordelia jumped on the vampire's back, but he threw her off him. He faced her and grabbed her by the neck. 

"Tasty," he said as he leaned towards her neck. 

Riley slammed his fist to the back of the vamp's head, making him let go of Cordelia. He grabbed the arms and held him back. "Now, Cordelia!" 

She took out the wooden stake and struck it in his chest. The pile of dust blew away with the breeze. Cordelia collapsed to her knees. 

Riley bent down next to her, cupping her face between his hands. "What's wrong?" Her eyes looked glazed. "Cordelia! Answer me!" 

She smiled at him. "We make a good team, don't we?" 

** 

Angel looked sternly at them. He felt like a father disciplining his children for sneaking out at night. "You could've been hurt." 

Cordelia held the ice pack to her head. "I can take care of myself." 

"And who's the one with the bump on their head?" Wesley said. 

"I just have a headache," she said. 

"It's my fault," Riley said. "I made her take me outside." 

"Just remember we're doing you a favor by letting you stay with us," Gunn said coldly. 

"You're right," Riley said. "I can take my things and leave by this afternoon." He headed to his room. 

Cordelia was shocked. She looked in disbelief at Gunn. "Why did you say that?" She ran after Riley. 

"I'm leaving," he said when she entered his room. "I know it's for the best. I've done nothing but cause trouble." He turned his back to her as he began to collect his things. 

"I want you to stay, Riley," she said. "I made you a promise, remember? We were going to help you get back your memories, and Cordelia Chase does not break her promises." 

He paused in what he was doing. 

"Please, Riley," she said moving closer to him. "Stay." She placed her hand on his shoulder. "Stay." 

He turned around and looked down at her. "I'll stay." He took her hands into his. "For you." 

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	4. The Premonition

The Premonition

Riley stood in front of the mirror examining his face. He traced the scar with his finger, wondering how he had received it. Was it from a battle like last night with a vampire? He sighed. Trying to remember anything was hopeless. He grabbed the counter and shook his head. Nothing was working. There were no clues, no starts, nothing that could get back his memories. 

He looked back into the bathroom mirror and stared at his reflection. "Who are you?" 

Suddenly, a piercing pain shot through his head. He sank to the tiled floor with his hands to his head. A bright light appeared before him. And then he saw something. 

It was Cordelia. She was wearing a white wedding dress and walking down the aisle. She smiled and then she was gone. 

Riley blinked and the pain disappeared. 

** 

Angel watched the people as they walked the streets at night. Many of them were young adults, dressed to go out to the bars. He watched one in particular. The young dark haired girl was holding hands with an older man as they left a club and walked towards a car. 

"What do we got?" Gunn said coming up to him. He followed Angel's eyes to a couple across the street. "She gonna get bit?" 

"No," Angel said. "He is." 

They made their way towards the couple. The girl and man were leaning against a car, too busy kissing to notice them approach them. 

Angel placed his hand on her. "Excuse me." 

She turned and hissed at him in vamp face. The man shrieked in horror and ran away. The girl threw a punch at Angel, hitting him right in the jaw. Gunn went for her, but ended up on the ground. The girl saw her opportunity and ran. 

She turned a corner and ran right into a stake. She looked down in disbelief and disintegrated into a pile of dust. 

Wesley bent down and picked up his stake and walked to Angel and Gunn with a smirk. "What would you two do without me?" 

"Man, wipe that look off your face," Gunn said. 

"Where are Cordelia and Fred?" Angel asked. 

Wesley pointed behind him. "They're on the next block. They should be fine." 

** 

"Get it off me!" Cordelia pushed the hairy demon off her. "Fred, where are you?" 

"I'm coming." Fred was trying to load the arrow into the bow. "My fingers aren't working right." 

"I suggest…" Cordelia ducked from another punch. "…that you…" She kicked the demon in the groin. "…get your fingers working…" She swung her fist. "…soon!" The demon grabbed her fist. 

"Oh!" Fred said. "I got it!" She aimed the bow to the demon and fired. It hit it in the back. It let go of Cordelia and howled in pain. 

Cordelia ran to Fred. "Next time, let me carry the weapon." They turned back to the demon, but saw that it had escaped. Cordelia stomped her foot. "Shoot." 

** 

Riley heard his door open as he lay in his bed. He saw Cordelia in the dark as she sat down to him. "Hey," she said. 

"Anything?" He sat up in bed. "Did you get anything?" 

She shook her head. "No memory-sucking demon." 

He looked down and frowned. 

"There's always tomorrow," Cordelia said. "We'll find something, Riley." 

"Cordelia?" He looked back up at her. 

"Yeah?" 

"Something happened to me while you guys were out," he said. 

"Like what?' 

"There was this pain in my head," he said. "And then there was this bright light, but I saw something." 

"Like a vision?" 

He nodded. "It was you." 

Cordelia raised an eyebrow. "Me?" 

"You were in a wedding dress and walking down the aisle," Riley said. 

"I was?" She smiled. "Who was I marrying?" 

"I didn't see anything else." 

She shrugged. "But I was happy, right?" 

He remembered her smile in the vision, how it had outshined the bright light before him. "Yeah, you were." 

** 

"How unusual," Wesley said. He took off his glasses and pondered over what Riley had just told them about his vision. "How very unusual." 

"Maybe the demon gave him this power after draining him," Fred said. 

"That's a possibility," Wesley said. 

"Do you think it's something like what Doyle had?" Cordelia said to Angel. 

Angel listened from a distance. "But he had a vision of you in the far future." 

"Hey," Cordelia said. "Are you saying no one's going to marry me anytime soon?" 

"What I'm saying is that you were no immediate danger," Angel said. 

"He's right," Riley said. "It was like I had a glimpse of the future, that's all." 

"That's all?" Cordelia said. "Do you realize what kind of power that bestows on you, Riley?" 

"We should research some more," Fred said. "This demon has a side effect we didn't know about." 

"In the mean time," Wesley said, "Get some rest, Riley. It seems like you've been using up a lot of your energy." 

Riley nodded and headed to his room. Cordelia followed him. "Riley." 

He turned to her. "I'm scared, Cordelia." 

She took him into her arms. "So am I, but I swear everything will be okay." 

** 

Riley stared up at the ceiling in the darkened room. He could hear the others in the next room as they talked and did their research. Once again, he felt alone and helpless. He turned over faced his open window. The curtain moved gently as the breeze blew in. He closed his eyes as he tried to fall asleep when the sharp pain hit his head again. He groaned and clutched his head. The bright light appeared and then an image. It was blurry, but slowly it came into focus. 

It was Angel. He was looking up at something; his face was filled with shock and anguish. His hands were holding onto something and as he moved them away, Riley saw it. The wooden stake pierced in his chest. 

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	5. Warning

Warning

Riley's cries caused the group to run to his room. Angel saw Riley in agony as he tossed in his bed. Cordelia went to his side and tried to calm him down. 

"Riley," she said. "It's all right now. Please, Riley." 

Riley opened his eyes and a white light illuminated the room for a brief moment. He rubbed his head and looked up at everyone. 

"What was it?" Wesley said. 

Riley's eyes darted to Angel and then back to Wesley. "It was Angel." He lowered his voice. "Someone had staked him." 

"What?" Cordelia said. "Are you sure that's what you saw?" 

Riley nodded. 

"Now this is something that causes alarm," Wesley said. He turned to Angel. "If his visions are true…" 

"I'm going to be killed," Angel said emotionlessly. 

"We can prevent it," Gunn said. "We just have to be careful now when we're out." 

"It's the future, Gunn." Cordelia said. "How can we prevent it from happening?" 

** 

"Listen to this," Fred said as she read from a book. "There's a entry on a demon that evokes the psychic abilities of its prey." 

Wesley and Gunn gathered around her as she continued to read. 

"In the eighteenth century, a demon from the Relis tribe was conjured to wipe out the memories of a small village after a brutal murder was committed," she said. "It seems like the murderer wanted to everyone to forget it so he wouldn't be put to death." She looked up at them. "The village people eventually went insane because they couldn't handle the visions, and that was the last anyone had heard of them." 

"This demon can only be conjured?" Wesley said. "That means something else is out there." 

"Something conjured up this demon?" Gunn said. "But why would they take Riley's memories?" 

"Maybe it wants something that Riley knows," Wesley said. "He's worked with Buffy and with the Initiative. Who knows what kind of information he has stored in his head?" 

** 

Cordelia watched Riley as he slept. She put her hand on his cheek and gently stroked it. She wondered what it was like to not know anything about herself, her life. Everything from Sunnydale to Los Angeles would be wiped out just like that in an instant. 

His eyes slowly opened and he smiled at her. "Hey." 

"Hey." She smiled back at him. "Go back to sleep." 

"No." He took a hold of her hand and squeezed it. "Have I told you yet how much I appreciate all of this?" 

"We all want you to get better, Riley," she said. 

"I meant you," he said. 

"What about me?" 

He interlaced their fingers. "Thank you for being by my side, for never leaving me, for taking care of me." 

Cordelia looked into his sincere eyes and felt herself be drawn to him. She leaned forward and softly kissed him on the lips. 

** 

Angel sat on the roof and looked out to the moon. He closed his eyes and thought about Riley's vision. His death. The end of his existence. 

"Angel?" Fred walked over to him and sat down. "Do you want to be alone?" 

He shook his head, opening his eyes and continuing to stare out into the sky. 

"We found something about the demon," Fred said. "It's from a tribe of demons called Relis. They're conjured up to wipe out memories." There was no reaction from Angel so she continued. "Apparently, the victims suddenly tap into their psychic abilities. The same thing is happening to Riley." 

"Are the visions true?" Angel said. He finally looked at her. "Did it say anything about that?" 

She bit her lip. "No." 

"So, there's still a possibility," he said. 

A sorrowful look passed through the two of them as the silence grew louder. 

** 

After Cordelia left, Riley got out of bed and walked over to his window. He smiled as he remembered their kiss. It was unexpected, but it was a good feeling. He thought about her dark hair and kind eyes, and the way she smelled like apples and sweet spices. She still lingered in the room. Of all the memories he had, he was happy to have her face implanted in his mind. 

Suddenly, the window disappeared before him as a bright light blinded him and the sharp pain hit his head once again. He placed his hands to the wall to steady himself as an image came into focus. 

It was a young girl with dark hair and eyes dressed in a orange suit. She was behind bars and sitting on a lonely mattress bed. 

Then, she was gone and the window came back as well as the sound of the traffic coming from outside. 

"Who was that?" he said. 

** 

"Her name is Faith." Angel handed Riley a newspaper clipping documenting her arrest. Alongside the article was a picture of her. "Is that who you saw?" 

Riley nodded. "Who is she?" 

"She's a slayer," Angel said. 

"Why did I see her in prison?" Riley asked. 

"It's a long story," Angel said, "but was she in danger? What did you see?" 

Riley thought for a moment. "All I saw was her in a jail cell." 

"That's it?" Wesley said. 

"Maybe it was another vision like the one he had about me," Cordelia said. "Something harmless, right?" 

"She could be correct, Angel," Wesley said. 

Angel crossed his arms in front of his chest. "I'm going to go see her." 

** 

Faith watched Angel walk in and sit across from her. She gave him a huge smile. It had been a long time since he had come by to visit her. She picked up the phone as he did the same. 

"Hey, what's up?" she said. 

"I came here to warn you, Faith," he said. 

Faith raised an eyebrow. "About what?" 

Angel looked around and lowered his voice. "There's a demon out there, and it may be coming after you." 

"I thought I was okay behind bars," Faith said, 

"You should be, but this is just a warning," he said. "Be careful." 

"What does it want with me?" she asked. 

"Riley saw you in a vision." 

"Whoa," she said. "Riley? Back up there and tell me what's going on." 

"This demon feeds on the mind, memories to be more exact," Angel said. "It got to Riley and somehow it gave him this power to see in the future." 

Faith shook her head in disbelief. "That's unreal." 

"The point is that he saw you in a vision," he said. "So please stay safe." 

"No problem," she said. "I can take care of myself." 

He smiled at her. "So, the food getting better?" 

She rolled her eyes. "The outside world may be changing, but nothing changes in here, Angel." 

"You're the exception," he said. 

"You think so?" There was a glimmer of hope in her eyes. "I mean, you aren't just saying that, right?" 

"I really mean it, Faith," he said. 

"Thanks." She smiled at him. "I appreciate it." 

"Well, I have to get going," he said, "but take care of yourself." 

She nodded. "Thanks again." 

He hung up the phone and looked at her one more time before leaving. 

Continue 


	6. The First Step

The First Step

"You think she'll be safe?" Wesley said to Angel when he had returned from seeing Faith. 

"I know she can take care of herself," Angel said. 

"What about us?" Fred said. "Are we safe?" Her worried eyes looked at him from behind her glasses. 

Angel didn't know what to say. He turned to Riley, who was sitting with Cordelia at the other side of the room. It seemed like only Riley would know the answer. 

** 

Riley watched them from the corner of his eye. "They're starting to treat me like leper." 

"Why do you say that?" Cordelia said. 

"Ever since I had my visions, they've been distancing themselves from me, like if they get too close, they might be the next one I see," he said. "Only you have stayed with me." 

She placed her hand over his. "I want to be with you, Riley." 

He looked deep in her eyes. "I don't deserve you." 

She grinned. "I know, but somehow, you have me." 

** 

Riley's cell phone rang that night. It was the same man from his previous phone call. His rough voice demanded to know if he had obtained any information on the demon. 

"This demon is proving to be more difficult than expected," Riley said. 

"We can send back up," the man said. 

"That's not necessary," he said. "Just give me few more days." 

"Very well, Finn," the man said. "Stay in contact." 

They hung up and Riley stared blankly at the phone. It was strange to be pretending that he knew what was going on, pretending that he did know his past, or even his present. 

Just then, Cordelia walked into his room. 

"Why aren't you out with the others?" he asked. 

She shrugged. "Felt like staying in." She went over to him and kissed him. "Got a problem with that?" 

He shook his head and wrapped his arms around her. 

** 

Angel had been chasing the demon for nearly a two blocks now. He turned to see where the others were. Wesley was holding onto Fred as they ran to catch up with him as Gunn watched their back with a bow and arrow in hand. He turned his attention back to the demon that was now disappearing around the corner. He quickly followed, but found himself alone as he rounded the corner. Angel looked around the empty street for any sign of the demon when all a sudden, he heard groaning above his head. He looked up to see the demon in the clutches of another demon with wings. The flying demon made one swift move and broke the neck of the demon it was holding, tossing its body to the ground. Angel dodged out of its way and chased the flying demon as it ascended higher into the sky. 

"Angel!" Gunn was running after him, but he ignored him, keeping his eyes on the demon in the sky. 

The demon vanished behind the roof of a building and Angel ran up the fire escape. Gunn was right behind him. 

"Stay back!" Angel said. 

Gunn continued on following Angel. 

Once they got on top of the roof, they scanned their surroundings. A large shadow appeared and the demon emerged from the dark. Its red eyes looked them over, but it made no movement. 

"So this is the memory-sucking demon," Gunn said as he slowly moved towards it. 

Angel held him back. "No." 

The demon suddenly outstretched its wings, showing them its wide wingspan. It remained still. 

"Angel!" Wesley called from the ground. "Are you all right?" 

Gunn moved to the edge and looked down. "We're fine, but we got the demon up here with us." 

Suddenly, the demon ascended again and flew towards Gunn. It pushed him off the edge and disappeared into the horizon. 

Angel ran to the edge and looked down. Gunn was dangling from the fire escape, holding on tightly to the metal bars. He looked up at Angel. "Uh, a little help here." 

** 

Riley ran a finger down Cordelia's arm, tracing a pattern on her soft skin. She smiled and snuggled closer to him. 

"You feel so good," she said. 

He kissed the top of her head. "You make me feel good." He pulled her closer to him underneath the covers. "Don't ever forget that." 

"Same to you," she said with a wink. Then, her tone became serious. "What's going to happen if you get your memories back?" 

"What do you mean?" 

"This life you have right now might not be like the life you had before you lost your memory," she said. "What if this isn't what you wanted?" 

He placed a hand on her cheek. "How can you say that? If I do get my memories back, nothing will change this." He kissed her gently. "Nothing." 

** 

Fred quickly looked into Riley's room to check on him and gasped at what she saw. Cordelia was in bed with him. Their arms entwined together, sound asleep. 

"Is he sleeping?" Gunn said coming up from behind her. 

She slammed the door shut. "Yeah." She pulled him away. "Lets put something on that cut." 

In the other room, Angel and Wesley were talking about the demon. Angel stood by the window, blankly staring outside. Wesley was reading from a book at the table. 

"This must be a rare demon species," Wesley said. "There are hardly any documentations on it." 

"Shouldn't we be worried about what conjured it up?" Fred said as she treated Gunn's wound. "I mean, the demon is working for someone else, right? We should be looking for that." 

"Fred's right," Gunn said. "We need to be looking for whoever called up that demon." 

"The first step is finding a clue," Wesley said, "something that can lead us somewhere." 

No one said anything. 

** 

Faith rolled over on her lumpy mattress and tried to fall asleep. Her thoughts kept going back to Angel's visit. He had warned her about being in danger. She felt restless behind bars. How could she defend herself with cops at every corner? She looked over at her cellmate, Lisa. There was no movement coming from her bed. She closed her eyes and soon enough, she did fall asleep. 

** 

Lisa woke up in the middle of the night with a feeling that she was being watched. Her instincts kicked in and she sat up in bed. She scanned the area and saw Faith sleeping in bed. There was no sound at all in their cellblock. She knew immediately that was something wrong. 

Suddenly, a figure appeared out of the shadows. Lisa opened her mouth to scream, but it lunged towards her. Lisa closed her eyes as the shadow took over her body, melting into her. She opened her eyes, revealing a yellow glow. 

Continue 


	7. Safety in Numbers

Safety in Numbers

"On your feet, ladies!" The security officer hit her baton against the bars, awakening the prisoners inside their cells. "It's going to be a long day!" 

Faith groaned and raised her hands over her head, stretching them out. She rubbed her eyes and got on her feet. Lisa was still lying in bed with her back turned against her. Faith went over to her and nudged her. "Hey. We have to get up." She turned her over and jumped back. Lisa's eyes were no longer blue, but a bright yellow. She slammed into Faith, knocking the air out of her. Faith quickly reacted with a punch to Lisa's face. It didn't faze Lisa as she once again leaped towards Faith. Faith grabbed the end of her bedpost and ripped the metal bar off its hinges. She swung at Lisa, hitting her on the head. 

Suddenly, a gust of wind appeared in the middle of the cell. Faith shielded her face as a figure emerged out of nowhere. 

"Faith." Angel held out his hand to her. "Hurry." 

Faith grabbed his hand and entered the portal with him. 

** 

"I see them, Wesley," Cordelia said as the portal opened up. "He has her." 

Wesley continued on reciting the Latin spell as he watched Angel and Faith step into the room. The portal vanished once they were safe inside the room. 

"What the hell…" Faith looked around the room. "What happened?" 

"Wesley teleported me to your cell," Angel said. "We knew you were in trouble." 

Faith looked over Riley. "Another vision?" 

Riley nodded. 

"I can't stay here," Faith said. "Someone will notice that I'm missing." 

"You can't go back either," Angel said. 

"Don't worry," Fred said. "I'm working on that." She sprinkled some gold dust to the ground and watched as it formed into a body. 

Faith looked on in amazement as a replica of herself appeared. She walked over to her twin and stared into her own dark eyes. "Cool." 

"We can teleport it back into your cell until we know its safe for you to return," Wesley said. 

"But, my cellmate attacked me," Faith said. She pointed to her twin. "It's going to attack her too." 

"Better her than you," Gunn said. 

"You'll be safe here," Angel said. 

Faith rolled her eyes. "That's what you said about prison." 

** 

"I think it was a demon," Faith said. She reached for another slice of pizza. "Her eyes were all yellow and she had super strength." She gulped down her lemonade. "Is there anymore popcorn chicken left?" 

Cordelia watched in awe as Faith ate. "Slow down. You don't want to choke on something." 

"Hey, you try eating gray pudding three times a day," Faith said. She looked at Riley. "So, what did you see? I mean, what was so urgent that Angel has to teleport to save me?" 

Riley thought about the vision he had this morning. Faith had her back to him and when she turned around, she was clutching her neck with blood pouring out from the cut. "I don't know," he said. "It's kind of blurry now." 

Faith shrugged. "Whatever." 

** 

"You don't need to come here, Buffy," Angel said into the phone. "Riley is fine. Please don't worry about anything." He looked up to see Faith watching him. "I'll call again with any news." He hung up and walked over to Faith. "Are you all right?" 

"So, B wants to come and join the fun, huh?" Faith said smiling. "Just the like the good old days." 

"Faith..." 

She looked at him innocently. "Angel." 

"Lets make something clear," he said. "You are not allowed to go outside while you are here. We can't risk anyone recognizing you." 

"I got my twin in jail for me," she said. "I'm safe." 

"I meant the other world," Angel said. 

"Oh, right." Faith looked around the office room. "Angel Investigations. I like that." She picked up a manila folder. "I must say, I'm proud of you." She grinned at him. "My vampire's all grown up." 

Angel shook his head and smiled. "Are you hungry?" He put an arm around her shoulder and led her to the kitchen. "I think Cordelia went shopping yesterday." 

** 

"I can't believe I'm saying this," Fred said, "but I hate books." She slammed a book closed and sighed. "I've been reading for five hours straight." 

"Don't give up, Fred," Wesley said. "Where's your demon researching spirit?" 

Gunn rolled his eyes and walked away from the table. He went and sat down next to Faith on the couch. The slayer had her knees to her chest with her arms wrapped around them. "You okay?" he said. 

She nodded. "It just feels weird, you know, being free, even for a moment." 

"I know we just met," Gunn said, "but I can relate to you. Everyone has their demons." 

Faith started to laugh. 

"I didn't mean that kind of demon," he said, but he joined in on the laughter. "Yeah, I guess that was funny, huh?" 

** 

Riley and Cordelia walked out to the roof, holding hands. He looked over at her and he had to smile. 

"What?" Cordelia said blushing. 

"Can't I just look at you?" he said still smiling. 

She looked out to the stars. "When all of this is over..." She turned back to Riley. "I just want all of you, you know?" 

He took her into his arms and held her tightly. She responded by kissing him. 

Someone cleared their throat causing them to pull away. They looked up to see Angel. 

"Sorry," Angel said. 

"Angel, let us explain..." Cordelia said quickly. 

He shook his head. "You don't have to. It's okay." 

She was surprised by his reaction. "Really?" 

"I'm not giving you my blessing..." 

"Angel," she said. 

"...because you don't want it, or need it," Angel said. "You're both capable of living your own lives." 

Cordelia smiled at him. "Thank you." 

"But, let me remind you that this is still a delicate situation, "he said. "Riley still has no memories of his past and there's a demon on the loose." 

"We know what's going on," Riley said. 

"Then I don't have to worry about anything," Angel said. He looked at Cordelia. "I need you to stay here tonight and watch Faith and Riley. We're going on a patrol." 

Cordelia nodded. "No problem." 

"Let me go with you," Riley said suddenly to Angel. 

"No, Riley," Cordelia said. 

"I should be out there fighting too," Riley said. "I'm supposed to be this demon hunter, right? Well, let me do my job." 

Angel frowned, but nodded. 

"Riley..." Cordelia grabbed his arm. "Be careful." 

He kissed her and said, "I will." He and Angel left her on the roof. She wrapped her arms around herself and looked up at the stars once more. 


End file.
